When the Panthers travel to Columbia, S.C., this Saturday to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first game of the season, it’ll be extra special for Michael Hayes, the Georgia State punter and placekicker. For Hayes, it’s not just the season opener — it’s a homecoming.
“This is the game that I’ve been looking forward to the most since I came to Georgia State,” Hayes said.
The Florence, S.C., native, an All-Sun Belt Conference punter last season, wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school. He caught the attention of Head Coach Shawn Elliott — a fellow South Carolinian — right before National Signing Day in 2019.
Michael Hayes will handle all three kicking duties for the Panthers this season.
(It’ll be a homecoming for Coach Elliott, too. He was an assistant coach at South Carolina from 2010-16 and was interim head coach for six games in 2015.)
“Coach brought me up here on the very last official visit weekend,” Hayes said. “And then he offered me a scholarship in front of my whole family. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Hayes has been the team’s starting punter since arriving on campus and he’s already third in program history in punts (109) and punting yards (4,450). He took over kickoff duties midway through last season and, beginning Saturday, he’ll also kick field goals and extra points.
“We recruited him as a kicker, but then we needed him to punt and he worked extremely hard to become a very good punter,” Elliott said. “Then we asked him to handle kickoffs. Now, this season, we’re asking him to do all three and he’s responded with that same hard work and determination.”
By handling punting, kickoff and placekicking duties for the Panthers, Hayes is following in the footsteps of two other Georgia State do-it-all kickers who made it to the NFL — Wil Lutz (B.S. ’17) and Brandon Wright (B.S. ’19).
Lutz is a Pro-Bowler for the New Orleans Saints and one of the league’s best at the position, and Wright signed as an undrafted free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2020.
Hayes, a junior Sport Administration major, has found just as much success in the classroom as he has on the field. He’s been on the Dean’s List, the President’s List and the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in Sport Administration.
“Being a student-athlete, you really have to manage your time wisely, make smart decisions and know what you need to do to be successful,” Hayes said. “And have a ‘why’ for what you’re doing. For me, it’s to be the best at my position and to be the best student I can be. That keeps me going.”
Hayes also has lofty goals for the Panthers this season.
“We have veterans coming back and we have talent,” he said. “We’re an experienced team and I think we’re going to be better than we were last year. We have a very good chance to win the Sun Belt Championship.”
